Illuminated soles and heels

ABSTRACT

Shoes having illuminated portions thereof. An e.m.f. source is preferably disposed within a cavity in a platform sole of a shoe, and a light bulb and means for operatively connecting and disconnecting the light bulb from the source of e.m.f. are preferably disposed within a cavity in a transparent heel. The means for operatively connecting and disconnecting the light bulb from the e.m.f. source may include a tilt switch, a threeposition manually actuated switch, and a recharging switch when the e.m.f. source is rechargeable.

July 8, 1975 United States Patent [1 Dana, III

[ ILLUMINATED SOLES AND HEELS Primary ExaminerPatrick D. Lawson [76}Inventor: Alfred Dana, III, 5700 Mariner Dr.,

Suite 5048, Tampa, Fla. 33609 July 31, I974 Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Cushman, Darby 8L Cushman [22] Filed:

[ ABS'I RACT Shoes having illuminated portions thereof. An e.m.f.

211 Appl. No.: 493,610

0E K W 205 x flu m WW WR N 1 in "m n c r "8 "Us L C WM .m U.| .F HUN 555References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,597,823 8/1926 Randolh.......t.......l........m 36/25 K a three-position manually actuatedswitch, and a re- 2,572,760 l0/l95l charging switch when the e.m.f.source is rechargeable.

Rikelman 36/25 K FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,072,485 12/1952France................r.........r.... 36/25 K 6 Claims, 8 DrawingFigures PATENTFD JUL 8 ms SHEET ILLUMINATED SOLES AND HEELS BACKGROUNDAND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to shoes with lightedportions thereof, and means for providing selective use of the lightedportions of the shoes. There have been many prior art proposals forproviding various lighted portions of shoes such as those shown in US.Pat. Nos. 2,976,622, 2,941,315, 1,597,823, and 1,933,243 however, noneof such prior proposals have been commercially successful. Numerousproblems associated with such prior art devices which undoubtedlyhindered their commercialability are the problems of (a) not having alarge enough cavity for incorporating a battery without significantlystructurally weakening support portions of the shoe, (b) havingparticular shoe position responsive lighting means that were actuallyresponsive only to the weight of the wearer, (c) having a means forturning on and off the light that was not selective in providing forparticular shoe position lighting, and (d) the necessity ofdisassembling the shoe, with possible destruction thereof or damagethereto, when battery replacement was necessitated.

According to the present invention, all of the abovementioned problemsinherent in prior art devices have been remedied. According to thepresent invention, means are provided in the sole of the shoe forretaining a source of e.m.f. for energizing lights associated with theshoes, which means provides a large enough area for incorporating almostany type of battery or current source without impairment of the supportfunction of the sole. Also, a mercury or other tilt switch is providedfor selectively cutting out or on the shoe lights in response to shoeposition, doing away with the necessity of cumbersome, often ineffectiveweight responsive means, and increasing the variety of shoe positions towhich the cutoff or cutout means may be responsive.

Additionally, according to the present invention, a three-positionswitch is provided for either turning the shoe lights on continuously,or bringing the tilt switch into the circuit, making the shoe lightsshoe position responsive. Additionally, a battery recharging means maybe provided for allowing power source recharging without the need fordisassembling and possibly damaging the shoes. In most prior artdevices, such a means would not even be contemplated since the batteriesand power sources that, of necessity (i.e. because of spacelimitations), had to be used were not rechargeable (i.e. dry cells).

Thus, according to the teachings of the present invention, shoes havinglighted portions thereof are provided that are improved over the priorart devices for almost any purpose whether decorative or functional towhich the shoes would be put while, at the same time, the possibilitiesof light response to various shoe positions are greatly increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of anexemplary shoe embodying the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the shoe illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3a and 3b are exemplary circuit diagrams for shoes embodying theteachings of the present invention;

FIG. 4a is a top plan view of an exemplary switch and bulb and mountingmeans associated therewith for use in the circuit shown in FIG. 3a, andFIG. 4b is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4a; and

FIGS. 50 and 5b are top and side views respectively of a switch, printedcircuit, and associated means for use in the circuit shown in FIG. 3b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of anexemplary lighted shoe according to the teachings of the presentinvention, which shoe may be worn either for decorative or aestheticappeal, or for providing a means for illuminating a path on which thewearer is walking, for providing visibility of the wearer when bicyclingor walking at night, or for a myriad of other purposes. The shoe 10 maycomprise generally a transparent heel portion 12, a platform sole l4,and an upper 16 of any suitable style or construction.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 2, the sole 14 comprises a bottom portion20 that is adapted to be fastened to the heel l2 and to engage theground when the shoe 10 is worn, and an insole 22 that is adapted to besandwiched between the sole 20 and a platform sole 24. The insole 22 hasan opening 26 therein and contacts 28 adjacent thereto, with wires 29leading from contacts 28 to contacts 30 located above heel 12 when theshoe components are assembled. The platform sole 24 has an opening 25therein adapted to receive a battery 32 such as nickel-cadmium batteryor other suitable source of e.m.f. The hole 25 cooperates with the hole26 in the insole 22, the battery 32 also being received by the hole 26and having contacts thereon adapted to operatively cooperate withcontacts 28 on insole 22. Preferably, the shoe has a covering (notshown) therein to be disposed over the platform 24 and insole 22 tocontact the wearers foot. The covering may be removed and easy accessthereby gained to the battery or batteries 32 with the platform 24, andalso through apertures 50 to the electrical components within the heel12 so that both the battery 32 and other electrical components may bequickly replaced without requiring shoe disassembly.

The heel 12 is preferably formed of a hard transparent material such asacrylic or lucite (sturdy enough to serve as a shoe heel). As shown inFIG. 1, the heel may be formed of layers 12' each of a different colorand of various sizes to provide an unusual visual effect. The heel mayhave a ground-engaging portion 13 at the bottom thereof which portion 13may be formed of rubber or leather or the like and be adapted to bereplaced when worn down. Located within heel 12 may be a cavity 35adapted to receive various electrical components to be furtherdescribed, and on the outside front face of the heel 12 preferably islocated a plate 36 having a toggle switch actuator 38 and rechargerorifice 40 received therein.

As shown most clearly in FIGS. 3a and 4a and 4b, the electricalcomponents received by the cavity 35 and plate 36 preferably are athree-Way switch 41 for actuation by toggle actuator 38, a light bulb42, a tilt switch 47, and a charging switch 49, contacts 31 providingconnection between contacts 30 (and e.m.f. source 32) and the rest ofthe electrical components. Preferably, the three-way switch 41 comprisesa movable contact 43 and stationary contacts 44 and 45, the movablecontact 43 adapted to be moved either into contact with contacts 44 or45, or into a center off position. When the contact 43 is in engagementwith contact 44, the tilt or mercury switch 47 is inserted into thecircuit whereby energization of the bulk 42 occurs when the shoe 10 isso positioned that the tilt switch 47 is closed. When the contact 43engages contact 45, the mercury switch 47 is bypassed and the bulb 42 isconstantly energized, the circuit from battery 32 always being complete.

Preferably the tilt switch 47 is a mercury switch that once it is tiltedwill provide for oscillation of the mercury 48 therein back and forth tointermittently make and break the contacts of the switch 47 therebycausing flashing of the light 42 on and off. The mercury will stoposcillating once the shoe remains in a certain orientation for apredetermined amount of time (depending upon the design of the switch47).

A charging switch 49 is preferably employed in all situations where thee.m.f. source is rechargeable such as nickel-cadmium battery therebyeliminating the necessity of taking the shoe apart when the batterywears out, as it necessary with prior art devices which utilize dry cellbatteries, or removing the covering of the platform 24 as is possiblewith the present invention. The charging switch 49 may be of the typehaving a movable cammable contact 51 normally biased into contact withstationary contact 52 to complete the circuit from battery 32 to theelectrical components within heel l2, and another stationary contact 53for cooperation with a recharger plug 55 for providing a rechargingcircuit for the battery 32. When the tip portion 57 of the rechargerplug 55 is inserted into opening 40 of switch 49, it cams contact l outof engagement with contact 52 and, at the same time, completes a contactbetween contact 43 and contact 51 through any suitable recharging meanswith which the plug 55 is associated. Upon withdrawal of tip 57 of plug55 after recharging, the contact 51 will again return to engagement withcontact 52.

A modification of the electrical components shown in FlGS. 3a, 4a and 4bis shown in FlGS. 3b, 5a and 5b. in this modification, the chargingswitch 49 is eliminated, and the contacts 31' for making contact withcontacts 30 leading to battery 32 are formed on a printed circuit board33 which mounts the switch 4], tilt switch 47, and bulb 42. As with themodification of FIGS. 4a and 4b, with this modification the cavity 35for mounting the electrical components within the heel 12 need not beformed so large that the structural integrity of the heel is impaired,diminishing its ability to perform its support function since thelargest component the e.m.f. source 32 need not be incorporated therein.

The shoe shown in FIG. 1 is used as follows: After the component partsof the shoe are assembled so that battery 32 operatively engagescontacts 28 of insole 22 and contacts of insole 22 engage contacts 31 inheel 12, the wearer may wear the shoe 10 just like any other shoe. Theswitch 41 will normally be in the middle off position with the bulb 42inoperative. lf it is desired that the bulb 42 constantly be energized,the toggle actuator 38 is moved so that contact 43 comes into engagementwith contact 45. If it is desired that the bulb 42 should be energizedonly when the shoe 10 is in a vertical position or in a horizontalposition (depending upon the wiring and orientation of tilt switch 47)or that light 42 flash on and off when the shoe is moved from oneorientation and then back in place, toggle 38 is moved so that contact43 engages contact 44, thereby inserting the tilt switch 47 into thecircuit between battery 32 and the bulb 42. After extended use when thebattery 32 is worn down, the tip 57 of re charging plug 55 is insertedinto opening 40 in heel l2, and the battery 32 is recharged, or thecovering for platform 24 and apertures 50 may be removed and the variouscomponents readily replaced.

Thus, it can be seen that according to the teachings of the presentinvention, lighted shoes are provided not requiring that any of thesupporting parts thereof be weakened by the formation of a large cavitytherein for containing a large number of electrical components, shoesthat have selective means for energizing and deenergizing the lights,the means allowing a great deal of versatility in conditionresponsiveness of the lights, and shoes that need not be disassembledwhen the e.m.f. source incorporated therewith has been depleted.

While the invention has been shown in what is presently conceived to bethe most practical and preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art that many modifications may be made thereofwithin the scope of the invention. For instance, a plurality of bulbs 42may be provided, located in or on various parts of the shoe such asexteriorly mounted on the toe or sides, or a number of different oneswithin the heel itself. Also, the switch 41 need not have a toggleactuator therefor, but may be of any suitable type, as may therecharging switch 49. Although a mercury switch has been disclosed forthe switch 47, other suitable tilt responsive switches may be utilized;the tilt switch can be arranged with respect to the shoe so that it isadapted to be closed upon any predetermined orientation or orientationsof the shoe. Also, the controls for the bulb need not necessarily bemounted on the front of the heel, but may also be mounted at othersuitable locations on the shoe 10. Other modifications are alsopossible, thus the invention is not to be limited to what has beenherein illustrated, but is to be accorded the full scope of the appendedclaims to encompass all equivalent structures and devices.

What is claimed is:

l. A shoe comprising:

a. a sole,

b. an upper,

c. a heel,

d. a source of e.m.f.,

e. a light bulb adapted to be operatively connected to said e.m.f.source,

f. a circuit operatively connecting said source of e.m.f. and said lightbulb,

g. means for selectively connecting and disconnecting said e.m.f. sourcefrom said light bulb dependent upon the relative orientation of saidshoe, said means including a tilt switch disposed within said circuitoperatively connecting said source of e.m.f. and said light bulb, and

h. means for selectively connecting and disconnecting said tilt switchfrom said circuit operatively connecting said source of e.m.f. and saidlight bulb, said means including a manually actuated switch having afirst position thereof wherein said tilt switch is inserted in saidcircuit and a second posi' tion thereof wherein said tilt switch is notinserted in said circuit and said source of e.m.f. and said light bulbare disconnected.

2. A shoe as recited in claim 1 further comprising means for allowingcontinuous operative connection of said e.m.f. source and said lightbulb, said means comprising said manually actuated switch. said switchhaving a third position thereof wherein said tilt switch is not insertedin said circuit but where continuous connection between said e.m.f.source and said light bulb by said circuit is provided.

3. A shoe as recited in claim I wherein said heel has a cavity formedtherein, and further comprising means for mounting said tilt switch andsaid manually actuated switch within said heel cavity.

initial tilting of said mercury switch.

1. A shoe comprising: a. a sole, b. an upper, c. a heel, d. a source ofe.m.f., e. a light bulb adapted to be operatively connected to saide.m.f. source, f. a circuit operatively connecting said source of e.m.f.and said light bulb, g. means for selectively connecting anddisconnecting said e.m.f. source from said light bulb dependent upon therelative orientation of said shoe, said means including a tilt switchdisposed within said circuit operatively connecting said source ofe.m.f. and said light bulb, and h. means for selectively connecting anddisconnecting said tilt switch from said circuit operatively connectingsaid source of e.m.f. and said light bulb, said means including amanually actuated switch having a first position thereof wherein saidtilt switch is inserted in said circuit and a second position thereofwherein said tilt switch is not inserted in said circuit and said sourceof e.m.f. and said light bulb are disconnected.
 2. A shoe as recited inclaim 1 further comprising means for allowing continuous operativeconnection of said e.m.f. source and said light bulb, said meanscomprising said manually actuated switch, said switch having a thirdposition thereof wherein said tilt switch is not inserted in saidcircuit but where continuous connection between said e.m.f. source andsaid light bulb by said circuit is provided.
 3. A shoe as recited inclaim 1 wherein said heel has a cavity formed therein, and furthercomprising means for mounting said tilt switch and said manuallyactuated switch within said heel cavity.
 4. A shoe as recited in claim 1wherein said heel is formed of layers of transparent material,consecutive ones of said layers being of differently colored material.5. A shoe as recited in claim 1 further comprising means for providingready removal of said light bulb from said heel through the interior ofsaid shoe upper.
 6. A shoe as recited in claim 1 wherein said tiltswitch comprises an undamped mercury switch for providing intermittenton and off flashing of said light bulb after initial tilting of saidmercury switch.